An irregularly updated journal of my life with the aforementioned animals (plus one more)

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

All Quiet on the Feline Front

Right now, there is little to describe from the cosy apartment. But I have a picture of each of the beasts at rest on a recent, hot day, so I thought I would make a progress report to justify their display.

Josie was regurgitating her hard-food (and not the soft), but making sure that she - and all the others - are deprived of it soon after bedtime seems to have solved the matter. I also dosed her with hairball medicine. She proved unexpectedly intractable in that activity, but the job is done, and she still likes me.

Renn continues to groom himself overly-much for my liking. I gave him some hairball medicine as well (he was much easier about it than his sister) and have bought a Furminator to help with any excess hair he feels he may have. His behaviour is otherwise unchanged, and his health appears excellent.

Tucker is on two units of insulin twice a day. This is undoubtedly too low an amount for him, but it will, I hope, stabilise his diabetes so that I can then see when and by how much it needs adjusting. He remains a happy little sausage, except when Parker is loose.

Cammie, recovered fully from her latest digestive episode, is eating well, walking across me purring while I am trying to sleep at four a.m., and hissing at anything that incurs her displeasure. It’s nice to have her back to normal.

Parker’s blood-sugar numbers are showing improvement, and he may at last be stabilised. His insulin dosage is still high but that is less important than a good, consistent curve. Once he is finished with his dental procedure in early August, and we are sure his diabetes hasn’t been unduly disturbed by it, we may see about lowering his dosage. But even then, the significance will be in his stability and general health.

The beasts are feeling good. I am pleased at this, as who knows how long it will last, with five very different cats? We enjoy today and prepare ourselves for what tomorrow will throw at us. I’m ready and, as you may see from the photographs above, so are the beasts.

Love seeing a picture of each cat. They look content and comfortable-that is what is important. The photo of Tucker under the chair made me smile. Funny how he can sleep like that. Hope all continues to go well in your family's world.

Forgot to ask but what hairball medicine do you use? I use the furminator on my Ozzy twice a week and he still continues to hack. Sometimes with great difficulty. Just wondering if something else might help him out.

I am trying a new kind that I bought at Homes Alive (a local shop, but from which items may be purchased on-line). It is by a company called NaturVet, and is simply called "Natural Hairball Aid". It has catnip and maple flavour in it, so the ingredients claim. It also explains that "cats accept Natural Hairball Aid immediately." This is a lie. I use a syringe to feed it to the beasts. It has the advantage of a consistency similar to apple sauce, so it flows through the syringe easily. It seemed to help in the short-term and probably needs a longer period of application. I am going to give more to Renn, once a day for a week.

YES, CHER IS A MANCAT

Cher’s tabby coat is a light orange, subdued, you might say. That characteristic may generally be applied to this four year old mancat. There is nothing shocking or startling about this boy. He’s easy-going; he’ll want to be your friend. And when you sleep at night, he’ll lie down beside you. Cher likes to talk a little, but not loudly, not jarringly. No, just a polite response when spoken to. A relaxed fellow, he has a good relationship with the other cats in his foster-home, and is particularly caring toward a very old dog in the house; Cher’s best pal is a shy cat. So you see, this orange-boy knows the value of gentleness and consideration. That’s not to say that he doesn’t like to have fun now and then; but being raucous and boisterous just isn’t his way. Does this sound like a cat you’d like to know? If you live in Lethbridge, Alberta, and would like to meet Cher, call the PAW Society at 403-328-6700 or fill out an on-line inquiry at http://www.pawsociety.com/adoptForm.html. Cher’s easy like a Sunday morning – all week long.